•IBKARy / ^'^ if OF I presented to the UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO by Diana Pohlman nASTER PIECES OF THEj< WORLD'S BESTj^ LITERATURE EDITED BY JEANNEITE L. GILDER d CLASSIC PUBLISHING CO., NEW YORK Copyright, MCMX, "by ORSAMUS TURNER HARRIS New York Printed in the United States of America 1 INDEX TO AUTHORS PAGX CRAIK, DINAH MARIA 5 The Riot. Too Late. Philip, My King. CRANCH. CHRISTOPHER P 16 Gnosis. CROCKETT, SAMUEL R 18 The Progress of Cleg Kelly, Mission Worker. CURTIS, GEORGE W 26 Our Cousin the Curate. Aurelia as a Grandmother. DANA. RICHARD HENRY 3J The lattle Beach Bird. Children. The Pleasure Boat. The Island. DANTE 37 At the Entrance of the Inferno. Farinata and Cavalcanta. Satan. DEFOE, DANIEL 45 The Shipwreck. The Man Friday. DE KAY, CHARLES 69 Dawn in the City. Little People. On Revisiting Staten Island. DEMOSTHENES 63 The Third Philippic. DE QUHNCEY. THOMAS 71 At the Theater, Opium Dreams. DICKENS, CHARLES 81 The Trip to Dingley Dell. The Sacrifice of Sydney Carton. Dick Swiveller and the Marchioness. Death of Little Paul. A Child's Dream of a Star. The Ivy Green. DABELL SYDNEY 138 Beauty. DOBSON. AUSTIN 142 The Child-Musician. The Ballad of Prose and Rhjone. DODGE, MARY MAPES 144 The Two Myster VOL. III.— INDEX TO AUTHORS PAGB DODGSON, CHARLES L. (Lewis Carroll) ... 146 The Lang Coortin'. A Mad Tea-Party. Father William, DOMETT, ALFRED 161 A Christmas Hymn. DOYLE, A. CONAN 163 How the Yellow Cog Fought the two Rover Galleys. The Bowmen's Song. DRAKE, JOSEPH R 174 The American Flag. DRYDEN, JOHN 177 The Good Parson. From "On the Death of Oliver Cromwell." The War with the Dutch. London after the Great Fire. DUMAS, Sr.. ALEXANDER 187* The Defense of the Bastion. EBERS, GEORG MORITZ 198 On the Barge. ' ELIOT, GEORGE, see MARIAN EVANS. EMERSON, RALPH WALDO 208 Nature. The Humble-Bee. Hymn Sung at the Completion of the Concord Monu- ment, April 19, 1836. The Compensations of Calamity. Good-By, Proud World 1 Love. EURIPIDES 237 The Sacrifice of Polyxena. Account of Alcestis's Farewell to her Home. Fragments from Lost Plays. EVANS, MARIAN 243 An English Landscape and a Country Congregation. Mrs. Poyser and the Squire. The fiaU Farm. Maggie and Tom go Fishing. Maggie Meditates over Tom's Books. "Oh! May I Join the Choir Invisible.'' EVERETT, EDWARD 283 The Emigration of the Pilgrim Fathers. Shaking Hands. Washington Abroad and at Home. The Landing of the Mayflower. FENELON 300 The Power of Self-Forgetfulness. Concerning Eloquence. WIELDING, HENRY 304 Partridge at the Playhouse. Essay on Nothing. Novel-Writers. 4 I INDEX TO TITLES PAe* American Flag, The Joseph R. Drake 17* At the Entrance of the Inferno Dante 2ff At the Theater ...... Thomas De Quincey 71 Aurelia as a Grandmother .... George W. Curtis 29 Ballad of Prose and Rhyme, The . Aiistin Dobson 143 Beauty Sydney Dobell 138 Bowmen's Song, The A. Conan Doyle 173 -Child-Musician, The Austin Dobson 142 Children Richard Henry Dana 32 Child's Dream of a Star, A . , . Charles Dickena 133 Christmas Hymn, A Alfred- Domett 161 Compensations of Calamity, The, Ralph Waldo Emerson 230 Dawn in the City ,..,... Charles De Kay 5* Dickena 12fl Death of Little Paul . .... Charles Defense of the Bastion, The . Alexander Dumas, Sr. 187 Dick Swiveller and the Marchioness . Charles Dickena 109 Eloouence ......... Fenelon 301 Ftoigration of the Pilgrim Fathers, The, Edward EvereU 28» English Landscape and a Country Congregation, An, Marian Evana 243 Essay on Nothing ..... Henry Fielding 308 Farinata and Cavalcanta INDEX TO TITLES PAGB Island, The Richard Henry Dana 35 Ivy Green, The Charles Dickens 136 Landing of the Mayflower, The . Edward Everett 295 Lang Coortin', The Charles L. Dodgson 146 Little Beach Bird, The .... Richard Henry Dana 31 Little People Charles De Kay 61 London After the Great Fire . John Dryden 185 Love Ralph Waldo Emerson 232 Mad Tea-Party, A Charles L. Dodgson 151 Maggie and Tom go Fishing . Marian Evans 270 Maggie Meditates over Tom's Books . Marian Evans 273 Man Friday, The Daniel Defoe 46 Nature Ralph Waldo Emerson 208 Novel-Writers Henry Fielding 314 "Oh! May IJoin the Choir Invisible" . Marian Evans 281 On Revisiting Staten Island . Charles De Kay 61 On the Barge Georg Moritz Ebers 198 "On the Death of Oliver Cromwell," From, John Dryden 181 Opium Dreams Thomas De Quinccy 77 Our Cousin the Curate .... George W. Curtis 26 Partridge at the Playhouse . Henry Fielding Philip, My King Dinah Maria Craik Pleasure Boat, The Richard Henry Dana Power of Self-Forgetfulness, The .... Fenelon Poyser (Mrs.), and ithe Squire . Marian Evans Progress ai Cleg Kelly, Mission "Worker, The, Samuel R. Crockett Riot, The Dinah Maria Craik Sacrifice of Polyxena, The Euripides Sacrifice of Sydney Carton, The . Charles Dickens Satan Dante Shaking Hands Edward Everett Shipwreck, The Daniel Defoe Third Philippic, The Demosthenes Too Late Dinah Maria Craik Trip to Dingley Dell Charles Dickens Two Mysteries, The Mary Mapes Dodge War with the Dutch, The .... John Dryden Washington Abroad and at Home . Edward Everett ! DINAH MARIA CRAIK Dinah ]\Iaria (Mulock) Craik, English novelist, born at Stoke-upon-Trent in 1826; died in 1887. Her first novel, " The Ogilvies," was written in 1849, and was at once a success. In 1865 she mar- ried George Lillie Craik. She wrote thirty novels and many stories and articles for the magazines. Though many of these would have established her literary fame, she will always be known for her " John Halifax, Gentleman." Mrs. Craik, however, always said that she believed that " A Life For a Life" was her best novel, but her judgment has not been confirmed by the majority of her readers. Her poems are true to life—never over-emotional, and entitle her to the name of poet as well as that of a novelist. THE RIOT (From "John Halifax, Gentleman") STOLE along the dark alley into the street. It I was very silent—I need not have borrowed Jem's exterior, in order to creep through a throng of maddened rioters. There was no sign of any such, except that under one of the three oil-lamps that lit the night-darkness of Norton Bury lay a few smouldering hanks of hemp, well resined. They, then, had thought of that dreadful engine of destruc- tion —fire. Had my terrors been true? Our house and perhaps John within it On I ran, speeded by a dull murmur, which I fancied I heard; and still there was no one in the street—no one except the Abbey-watchman lounging Vni.. TTT. 5 " — DINAH MARIA CRAIK in his box. I roused him, and asked if all was safe? —where were the rioters? " ** What rioters ? "At Abel Fletcher's mill; they may be at hii house now— ** Ay, I think they be.»* ** And will not one man in the town help him ; no " constables—no law ? " Oh ! he's a Quaker ; the law don't help Quakers.*^ That was the truth—the hard, grinding truth—in those days. Liberty, justice, were idle names to Nonconformists of every kind; and all they knew of', the glorious constitution of English law, was when I its iron hand was turned against them. I had forgotten this ; bitterly I remembered it now. i So, wasting no more words, I flew along the church- \ yard, until I saw, shining against the boles of the | chestnut-trees, a red light It was one of the ^ hempen torches. Now, at last, I had got into the midst of that small body of men, " the rioters." They were a mere handful—not above two score apparently the relics of the band which had attacked the mill, joined with a few plough-lads from the country around. But they were desperate; they had come up the Coltham road so quietly, that except this faint murmur, neither I nor any one in the town could have told they were near. Wherever they had been ransacking, as yet they had not attacked my father's house; it stood up on the other side the road—barred, black, silent. I heard a muttering—" Th* old man bean't there,** —"Nobody knows where he be." No, thank God! " Be us all y'ere ? " said the man with the torch, holding it up so as to see round him. It was well then that I appeared as Jem Watkins. But no one noticed me, except one man, who skulked behind a tree, and of whom 1 was rather afraid, as he was ap- parently intent on watchingc 6 " " " THE RIOT "Ready, lads? Now for the rosin ! Blaze 'un out." But, in the eager ^cuffie, the torch, the only one alight, was knocked down and trodden on. A volley of oaths arose, though whose fault it was no one seemed to know; but I missed my man from behind the tree—nor found him till after the angry throng had rushed on to the nearest lamp. One of them was left behind, standing close to our own railings. He looked round to see if none were by, and then sprang over the gate. Dark as it was, I thought I recognized him. " John ? " Phincas ? " He was beside me in a bound, ** How could you do— "I could do anything to-night. But you are safe; no one has harmed you. Oh, thank God, you are not hurt ! And I clung to his arm—my friend, whom I had missed so long, so sorely. He held me tight—his heart felt as mine, only more silently. " Now, Phineas, we have a minute's time. I must Jiave you safe—we must go into the house." " " Who is theie ? " Jael; she is as good as a host of constables; she has braved the fellows once to-night, but they're back again, or will be directly." " " And the mill ? "Safe, as yet; I have had three of the tanyard men there since yesterday morning, though your father did not know.